Match-safe.



No. 698,406. Patented Apr. 22, I902.

. S. D. LOCKE. l

MATCH SAFE.

(Application filed Apr. 16, 1901.)

(No Model.)

WIQ'ZnemPew *5 UNITED STATES PATENT OF ICE.

SYLVANUS D. LOCKE, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TOMARTIN MCVOY, J R., OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MATCH-SAFE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 698,406, dated April22, 1902.

Application filed April 16 1901.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SYLVANUS D. LooKE, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented a new and useful Match-Safe, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to a match-safe, with the object in view ofproviding a safe from which the matches cannot be removed withoutbeingignited and in which the matches are automatically presented one ata time in position to be withdrawn from the safe.

A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a view of thesafe invertical section from front to rear, the section being taken along theline A A of Fig. 3 just inside the case. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectiontaken in the plane of the line B B of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a verticaltransverse section in the plane of the line C C of Fig. 2, showing thematchoperating drop and igniter in its lowermost position, the positionwhich it assumes when a match is held ready to be withdrawn. Fig. 4 is asimilar view showing in full lines the position of the match-operatingdrop and igniter at the upward limit of their stroke as they appear justbefore the match is ignited and showing in dotted lines the position ofthe match and the match-operating drop and igniter in the position whichthe parts assume about midway of the downward movement of the drop, andFig. 5 is a View in detail of a modified structure.

The casing comprises a lower box portion (denoted by a) surmounted inthe present instance by a match-reservoir Z2, communicating with theupper rear portion of the lower part a of the casing.

The particular form of the casing is not a feature of my presentinvention, it being understood that'the casingshall be of a form adaptedto contain the several operating parts, as will be hereinafter moreparticularly described.

The matches may be placed in the matchreservoir 1) by means ofunscrewing the top 0 of the reservoir, or the top 0 may be provided witha lock of any well-known or approved Serial No. 56,044. (No model.)

form, so that access thereto maybe gained only by the person holding thekey.

Within the lower part of the casing and near one of the front cornersthere is located a guide-rod d, set'upright and serving as a guide forthe vertically-reciprocating drop e, which carries the device forcausing the match to ignite when withdrawn from the safe and also servesto tilt a match into position to be withdrawn. The drop e is engaged invertically-sliding adjustment with the guide (1 by means of a pair oflugs f g, which embrace the rod cZ. The'said drop is provided at itsupper end with a pair of jaws h and t, which flare asthey extendlaterally away from the drop 6 and the inner faces of which areroughened in any suitable manner for the purpose of insuring africtional grip upon the head of the match to cause it to ignite whendrawn from between them. Intermediate of its ends the drop 6 is providedwith a lug j, in the present instance of rounded form, projected intothe plane of the match which is most advanced for the purpose of tiltingit into position to be withdrawn from the safe. conducted from thereservoir Z) into position to be operated upon by the drop 6 by means oflower supports 7t and Z, in the present instance formed by means ofplates uprising from the base m'of an inner skeleton frame locatedwithin the lower part a of the casing, their upper edges, along whichthe matches travel, being curved, as shown at n, Fig. 1. Above the lowersupports 7.; and Z and spaced above them a distance enough greater thanthe diameter of a match to permit thematch to travel freely between themis the fixed guideplate 0, its edge toward the matches being curved tocorrespond with the curved upper edges n of the supports and Z. Thesupport 7c has a part 19 extending upwardly at The matches are ranged tobe in the same vertical plane that a match resting against the rear edgeof the drop e and uprightp would occupy, and the match-tilting lug j onthe drop also projects into this same vertical plane. On the top of thelower portion a of the casing and communicating with the interior of thecasing a through a slot is a hood (1, the interior of which is a littlewider than the diameter of a match and the front of which is open, asshown at Fig. 1. The hood q is arranged in the present instancetransversely of the safe, with its open end for the passage of a matchdirected toward the side of the safe, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and thesupport I, on which the matches rest as they are fed forwardly,

is located in a vertical plane a short distance farther toward the sideof the safe than the end of the hood q, so that when the match is tiltedon the upper edge of the supportl as a fulcrum and thrown into anupright position by the drop 6 its exposed end will be carried away fromthe open end of the hood q far enough to enable the match to be takencon- Veniently between the thumb and finger to be withdrawn.

The matches are forced toward the front into engagement with the stop 19and the front edge of the drop e by means of the sector r, carried by aspindle s, mounted in a pair of ears t and tt, fixed to the skeletonframe within the upper position of the part a. of the safe,

' the curved face of the sector r being provided with teeth, preferablyratchet-shaped teeth 4), which coact with similar teeth w near the upperend of the curved portion n to force the matches forward as the sectoris rocked in one direction, while passing freely over the matches whenthe sector is rocked in the opposite direction.

The spindle s, which carries the sector r, is operated by the drop ethrough an arm 0:, provided with a slot y,which engages a pin a, projecting laterally from the drop 6.

The drop 6 may be held in its proper position relative to the guide-rod(I either by the feather-aud-groove connection 2 (shown in Fig. 2) or bythe interposition of a stop 3 (shown in Figs. 3 and 4) or by means ofany other well-known or approved device.

The matches are conveniently directed to the channel between thefeed-sector r and the supports and Zby means of a guide-plate 4,depending from the front of the upper portion 1) of the casing.

The operation may be briefly stated as follows: Assuming the match to bein the position 5, Figs. 1, 2, 3, the match so placed being graspedbetween the thumb and finger and lifted will by its frictional contactwith the jaws h and i of the drop lift the drop to the limit of itsupwardmovement, (shown in Fig. 4,) and the continued lift upon the matchwill draw the head of the match between the jaws h and 11, therebyigniting it as it escapes from between the jaws. Y The upward movementof the drop e rocks the feed-sector r, by

means of the pin-and-slot connection with the arm 00, in a direction toadvance a match into the horizontal position shown in full lines in Fig.4viz., directly beneath the interior of the hood (1 and also beneath thematch-tilting lugj on the drop. As the match escapes from between thejaws h and 11 the drop, being released, will fall back under theinfluence of gravity into the position shown in Fig. 1, and during itsdrop the lug will engage the match near its end and tilt it on thesupport Z as a fulcrum into the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3. As thematch is tilted by the engagement with it of the lugj it will be thrownforcibly between the jaws h and t and gripped with sufficient force toenable the drop to be lifted by the match when it is wished for use. Thesame downward movement of the drop also throws the feed-sector 4' backinto position to again advance the matches along the supports 7t and Zwhen the next succeeding matchis withdrawn for use. The advance of amatch into position to be presented for use depends upon the withdrawalof a match for use, and a match cannot be withdrawn for use withoutcausing it to ignite. It thus follows that by making the safe secureagainst being opened save only by a person with the proper key or toolsa safe is provided which will effectually prevent the removal of matchessave only for immediate use and which will at all times present a matchin convenient position to be used and ignited without defacing thesurrounding walls or objects.

While I have referred to the drop 6 as operating under the influence ofgravity and while I prefer to so construct the safe, it is obvious thatin the event the drop should not be sufficiently heavy or for anypurpose was not made sufficiently heavy to perform its work under theinfluence of gravity the power of its return movement might beaccelerated by the introduction of aspring. Such an attachment is shownin the modified form, Fig. 5, where the spiral spring 6 is shownconnected at one end to the lug g and at the opposite end to the base mof the skeleton frame.

What I claim is 1. A match-safe comprising a casing, a reservoir for thematches, a drop arranged to tilt a match into position to be withdrawnfrom the safe, a match-gripping device connected to the drop whereby thewithdrawal of the match moves the drop into position to operate on asucceeding match and ignites the match, and means for feeding thematches into position to be operated by the drop, substantially as setforth.

2. A match-safe comprising a suitable casing, means for presenting amatch in position to be withdrawn from the safe and a matchgrippingdevice connected to the match-presenting means whereby the withdrawal ofa match moves the match-presenting means into position to operate on asucceeding match, substantially as set forth.

3. A match-safe comprising a suitable casing, a reciprocating drop, afeed mechanism operated by the drop, whereby the matches are fed one byone into position to be tilted by the drop and a match gripping deviceconnected tothe drop whereby the withdrawal of a match moves the dropinto position to operate on a succeeding match, substantially as setforth.

4. A match-safe comprising a suitable casing, a drop having a limitedrising-and-falling movement within the casing, means for feeding thematches into position to be engaged by the drop during its fallingmovement, gripping-jaws connected to the drop, the drop being providedwith an offset in position to tilt a match into position between thejaws with one end of the match exposed exterior to the casing, and meansfor feeding the matches into position to be engaged by 20 the drop,substantially as set forth.

5. A match-safe comprising a suitable casing, a gripping device forengaging the match to be withdrawn, means connected to the grippingdevice for moving a succeeding match into position to be Withdrawn, afeeding device and plates spaced apart forming a support for the matchesas they are fed into position to be operated upon, substantially as setforth. W

In testimony that I claimthe foregoing as my invention I have signed myname, in presence of two witnesses, this 9th day of April,

SYLVANUS D. LOCKE. lVitnesses:

FREDK. HAYNES, HENRY THIEME.

